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Yulan
Firelord Yulan (born Yulan Firewind) was the former and 238th Firelord of the Great Firewind Dynasty. Born in the former mogu halls of Firewind Palace in her ancestral province of Huofeng Province, she inherited the title by her right of blood after the death of her father, Firelord Taizong. After the onset of the Alliance-Horde War in Pandaria, Yulan led her province to maintain a tense neutrality until the events of the destruction of the Vale, when she began to join the Grand Alliance. History Yulan was born to the overbearing Firelord Taizong and the strict Firelord-Consort Mangtong . The first of several children, Yulan was raised from birth to become the heir to Firelord Taizong. Her father, busy with matters that pertained to the politics of his province, was a hands off father that allowed for his brother-in-law, Piroh Firewind to raise her instead. Yulan's abilities quickly materialized as a young girl, when she would often cause trouble to her younger siblings. This quickly changed when Taizong and Mangtong made her undergo rigorous training under Piroh Firewind , the master of the Firewalker school. Raised with the Eight Pandaren Arts in her education along with her martial training from a young age as a Firewalker, Yulan quickly excelled in her classes, able to best many older Firewalker students several times her age. Yulan found herself accompanied and companioned with Zhu Rong, one of the most powerful fire spirits in all of Huofeng. Taizong was well aware of his daughter's abilities, and soon pressed his young daughter further and further into her studies, despite Piroh's pleas that no young child could bear such heavy burdens. Despite this workload, Yulan was still able to cope, finding companionship with her many sisters and brothers. Her mother as well continued to teach her daughter the ways of the Court and secretly, matters of how to decieve politely in order for her to gain some leverage over her overbearing and demanding father. Joining the Shado-Pan As Yulan entered her teenage years, the red blossoms of the Shado-Pan Monastery went into bloom. As the Shado-Pan came to Huofeng to find their newest candidates, Yulan saw an honorable exit from her overbearing father. Rather than wait several decades to ascend to his throne and live under her father's whims until her coronation, Yulan saw that the Shado-Pan would offer her a chance to prove herself and rise to prominence in Pandaria. However, it was not to be. As per tradition of Huofeng and arrangements between the Shado-Pan and the Firelords of long past, the chosen heir, no matter their ability, would not be offered a ring to join. Instead, Xinghuo, her younger brother and second in line, was offered instead. Yulan grew jealous of her brother's privilege, seeing her brother as an incompetant failure and middling talent that would at best be a foot soldier, and at worst, a corpse. In the dark of night before Xinghuo's supposed departure, Yulan stole the ring, and left Huofeng with the help of her Uncle Piroh. Able to stay undetected from her father's guards, Yulan made her way to the Shado-Pan Monastery. Yulan excelled at her trials, by far the most well-equipped fighter due to her background and upbringing under Taizong. Despite the knowledge that she was the heir to Huofeng Province, the masters of the Shado-Pan decided to allow her entry on the grounds she disowned her claim. Yulan readily agreed to this arrangement, now setting her eyes on rising through the ranks of the Shado-Pan instead on her own terms. Yulan's teenage years were shaped within the halls of the Shado-Pan Monastery. Her first love and times of romance started with her fellow students. Due to the nature of her early training and constant new assignments of her master, she was quick to love and quicker to part. Yulan kept many lovers during her time with the Shado-Pan, and later some of rather high rank. This sporadic nature of lovers shaped her love life for the rest of her life, finding herself hard to make commitments with those around her, and instead finding enjoyment in the chaotic nature of many short-term lovers instead. After completing her training, Yulan, now a full Shado-Pan member and no longer a mere trainee, went on her customary leave back to Huofeng. Her father, furious at her decision, could do nothing now that she was with the Shado-Pan. With the Shado-Pan Blackguard Yulan quickly rose through the ranks of the Blackguard, proving herself time and again by martial prowess and a quick cunning. Her courtly background gave her the ability to appease and appeal to those both above and below her, allowing her to quickly find herself as one of the pandaren welcome in Master Snowdrift's war room. Her best known achievement during her time as a Blackguard strategist was when she single handidly took out a small swarm of mantid by herself. Setting up and leaving evidence to mantid scouts of a forward Shado-Pan base, Yulan created a decoy camp to attract the mantid's attention. Dressing and painting barrels of explosives to appear as sleeping pandaren within their tents, after the camp was overrun Yulan set off these explosives in the dark of night, incinerating a large swath of mantid with not a single casuality to the Shado-Pan. This strategy earned her the respectable epitaph of "Sleeping Dragon". Yulan also came to meet the elder heavenly cloud serpent by the name of Lianghou, her trusty companion and soothing voice to help temper Yulan's nature. As well, Yulan fell in love with several lovers during this time, the most notable being Tsukimi Miki, the now current head of the Lotus Group in Huofeng. Ambitious and impatient, Yulan realized that she had little room to advance. Blocked by Shado-Master Yulan Cloudfall from the ranks of the Shado-Masters on account of her youth and personality, Yulan realized once again she could not move up and reach her dreams of becoming the Master of the Blackguard discipline, let alone Lord of the Shado-Pan. Parting of the Mists With the parting of the Mists, tragedy struck Pandaria. The Sha emerged from their slumber in numbers unheard of in modern times, and Yulan found herself now fighting for her life and contact with foreigners she couldn't have dreamed of. Yulan originally pressed for the removal of these foreigners as their invasion lead to the unleashing of the Sha, however her words meant little as the Shado-Pan were busy fighting against too many enemies to handle. With the release of the prime Sha of Anger, Yulan heard news of Huofeng's corruption. Hearing that her father, Firelord Taizong, had fell to his own anger, Yulan saw a new opportunity appear before her. Manipulating the deployment charts by forging signatures, Yulan had herself sent leading the Shado-Pan deployed to retake Huofeng Province from the Sha. Quickly successful due to her knowledge of the terrain and her home, Yulan went face to face with her father in the palace. The battle between father and daughter was intense, but Yulan proved greater and bested her father. After disarming her father and putting his father at swordpoint, Yulan, realizing her father could still be saved from the Sha, decided instead to execute her father to "save" him. As the Shado-Pan and Court of Huofeng arrived, the scene of a conflicted Yulan, holding the bleeding corpse of her father with the Sister Swords of Heavenly Fire drenched in his sha-corrupted blood, was the beginning of a new age for the province. Yulan closed the eyes of her father, took the swords in both hands, and placed the Crown of the Firelord on top her head, coronating herself as Firelord. Early Reign as Firelord Yulan soon went about rebuilding Huofeng Province, despite the orders of the Shado-Pan to return to the monastery. Her people were quick to follow her after seeing her lead only a few Shado-Pan to save the province from utter destruction. She soon pressed to Lord Taran Zhu for a discharge, claiming that her younger brother Xinghuo Firewind would be too incompetant to lead and that she herself could save the province. Taran Zhu allowed this; however, the discharge was far from honorable, creating conflict for herself with the Shado-Pan due to her brash demands. Despite the onset of these troubles, Yulan quickly opened up ties to the outside world, sharing customs such as the Huofeng Torch Festival with the members of the Grand Alliance in June of 30 L.C. Yulan soon grew her ranks, realizing that the destruction the Sha had wrought on her people was far too great and that new blood was needed in order for the Province to thrive. The Province began to grow strong, and soon Yulan had a firm grasp on her people. Troubles Inside Yulan's reign however was far from harmonious and peaceful. Huofeng Province was not immune to the issues that struck her province. A yaungol warlord by the name of Warlord Batu had come to take her province from her, using Sha-empowered weaponry to create havoc in the province. Yulan and her people however were able to conquer Warlord Batu, who now keeps his prized mushan as one of her trophies in her stables. Destruction of the Vale After the destruction of the Vale, Yulan fell into a deep depression and fit of anger. Blaming the foreigners for this transgression of the destruction of Pandaria's most sacred land, Yulan closed the gates of Huofeng and removed the pandaren that had ties wit the Horde or Alliance from her province. After several months, her cousin, Kuailong Firewind, persuaded her that her actions would only hurt her people further, and that the true enemy was Garrosh, not all foreigners. Yulan soon followed her cousin's advice and opened the gates once more, now in pursuit of joining the Grand Alliance. Corruption Within Due to the period of isolation, several discontent factions, most notably the criminal organization known as the Lotus Group, had grown in power. A rogue Red Pole by the name of Great Smile Li had taken several mogu artifacts to empower himself in attempt to seize Huofeng Province for himself. Yulan swiftly routed out this corruption out with the help of both the Lotus Group loyalists and her own Guard, and had Great Smile Li executed. Anger's Last Breath Great Smile Li's work however was not finished, even in death. Several sha-ridden artifacts had made their way into Huofeng, a plan of revenge from the grave should Great Smile Li had died. Youlou Swagpaw, then current General of the Firewind Guard, mistakingly underestimated the Sha of Anger's power, and had a large number of his men killed. His failure had drawn the attention of the Shado-Pan, which enacted martial law and control of Huofeng Province. This gesture was done mostly as a spite to Yulan's dishonorable discharge, however Yulan was powerless to disagree, her forces decimated. Able to regroup against the last breath of the Sha of Anger, the forces of the Shado-Pan and Huofeng Province were able to save the day, clearing the Sha once and for all from the province. Expansion A rogue undead troll warlord by the name of Mando'jin soon arrived upon the shores of the Zouchin strand. Yulan at the time was beginning negotiations with Zouchin to create stronger ties as well as connect the two provinces in some capacity beyond air travel. After negotiations were interrupted, Yulan quickly in a show of force brought the Firewind Guard to the aid of Zouchin Village. With not a single life lost, Zouchin Province became friends with the pandaren of Huofeng, and allowed Yulan to begin work on the tunnel system using old mogu ruins and tombs to connect the two provinces, as well as allow them to build a port off of the Strand. This port city, heavily controlled by Lotus Group membres, is now known as Fogong Harbor. This expansion of territory marked the first expansion of the Firelord's domain in over ten thousand years since the last Emperor. Interrupted Negotiations Yulan currently finds herself now within Stormwind City, formalizing her ties with the Alliance as an ally. During these negotiations, she had appointed her Central Magistrate, Jingqiao Firewind, to serve as Steward and Acting Firelord. During this time, one of the sacred flames protecting Huofeng Province from the cold winds of the mountains had been stolen by the old Huofeng based tribe of yaungol known as the Gal-Salkhi. Under Warlord Anchin, this tribe has returned to Huofeng after a long absence. Unable to return to help her people as she finishes her negotiations, Yulan has instead commanded from afar the actions being done to save Huofeng from the encrouching winter. Appearance Yulan's appearance shows signs of her upbringing and background. Her body, covered in burn scars, are testaments to her training as a Firewalker. Upon her back is a burn scar made in the shape of the pandaren character for fire, prominent due to its ornate and purposeful burn. This burn scar marks her rank as Firelord. Yulan has been desired for years amongst the pandaren despite her rather burned nature and underweight size due to her rank, poise, and grace. Yulan soars above many of her peers, being over seven feet tall. Yulan is unusual for her family's bloodline as she is not fully a red pandaren, and instead only has a streak of red hair upon her head, and small patches of red upon her body. She takes mostly after her mother's line in appearance, although her features still are very reminiscent of Firelords past of her father's line. Yulan often wears the regalia of the Firelord, an ornate set of leather armor that is traditionally used both in court and in combat when leading troops. Yulan sees her people now in a constant fight, and so rarely will wear her courtly robes set aside for times of peace. Upon her back are the Sister Swords of Heavenly Fire, and her crown, marked with a precious jewel kept for millenia, is stylized by her own personal fire. The crown is given the shape of Niuzao's horns and as well cover her jade eyes with fire, giving tribute to her time as a Shado-Pan and as well to invoke an intimidating appearance to those that meet her. Yulan often can be seen drinking hard liquor throughout the day, a byproduct of her cultural heritage as a pandaren. Demeanor Yulan is a woman with many masks. Originally a hot tempered and cocky child, Yulan quickly grew up from her education and training to become a far more subdued individual. Often blocking her expressions and emotions with that of courtly politeness, Yulan's true intentions are hard to read to those that do not know her well. Her customary red and gold fan is often used to block her facial expressions, or at least what little she expresses. Yulan rarely smiles, and some jest that to see Yulan's smile is to see four deaths in the mirror. She however is a caring individual with a great sense of patriotism and pride for her people, seeing herself as the future of the pandaren and destined to lead them to great glory through her strength and ideals. Yulan always maintains face, keeping herself polite and traditionally following several novle ideals and philosophies of the pandaren, most specifically that of the Huojin philosophy. Strengths Yulan is among the most skilled pandaren champions in melee combat, and considered a legend for her raw Firewalking ability. Her background with the Blackguard has given her a strong understanding of tactics and a wide experience in combat scenarios, both in small and large numbers. With an impressive physical stature, she overcomes her opponents with a combination of her size and strength as well as her seemingly vast amounts of chi. Her fighting style is akin to that of a soaring comet, quick to ignite and fast to burn. Yulan's courtly education has allowed her the ability to make other pandaren follow and like her, able to appease them while very rarely giving little up. Yulan is also very trusting in her allies. Weaknesses Yulan, when broken from her demeanor due to trauma, is known to enter periods of great rage. To anger Yulan is to wake a sleeping bear. When Yulan's plans go awry, Yulan is quick to choose pure strength over mind, and can often butt heads with who she sees as having wronged her. Yulan keeps grudges for her life and until her revenge is enacted, will hold them. Yulan's emotions can get the best of her, despite her Shado-Pan and courtly upbringing, and cause great pain to those that love her. As well, Yulan's ambition leads to her having a large sense of pride and feeling that she does know best. Should someone break Yulan's trust, they will never see it again in their lives. Currently Yulan passed away during the Fourth Gal-Salkhi Invasion of Huofeng, and her body was burned in the Firewind pyre. An amber effigy stands in the courtyard of the palace. Category:Characters Category:Pandaren Category:Firewind Clan Category:Great Firewind Category:Deceased